The world slammed back into existence.
Alex hit the ground hard, air punched from his lungs. The floor beneath him wasn't carpet anymore — it was jagged black stone, veined with glowing cracks that pulsed like arteries. Heat rose from below, choking and dry, carrying the acrid stench of sulfur and something else — something that made his stomach turn. The sky above was no sky at all but a roiling void, streaked with red lightning that illuminated nothing and cast everything in sharp, unnatural shadows.
The temperature was wrong. Not just hot, but hungry hot, the kind that pulled moisture from your mouth and made every breath feel like swallowing glass. The air itself seemed alive, pressing against them with malevolent weight.
Screams and curses echoed nearby as the others tumbled in around him. Millie landed in a crouch, already pulling Moxxie to his feet with practiced efficiency. Her eyes swept the hellscape, cataloging threats with the cold precision of someone who'd survived more battlefields than she'd care to count.
Blitzo hit the ground face-first with a grunt, then rolled over grinning like he'd just gotten off a rollercoaster. "Well, that was fun!" he announced to no one in particular, brushing volcanic ash off his coat. "Nothing says 'team building exercise' like spontaneous interdimensional travel!"
Loona snarled as she shoved herself up, brushing ash off her fur with sharp, irritated swipes. Her ears flattened against her skull as she took in their surroundings. "This place reeks of brimstone and bad decisions," she growled, nose wrinkling in disgust.
Charlie staggered to her feet last, tiara askew but eyes blazing with determination that seemed almost defiant against the oppressive atmosphere. Her usual bright optimism flickered but didn't die, even here. "Is everyone—?"
A thunderous crack split her words.
The sound was like the world breaking apart at its seams. From the fissures in the stone, shapes began to rise — not emerging, but unfolding, as if the very rock was giving birth to nightmares. Twisted, insectile creatures with limbs too long and bodies stitched from shadow and flame. Their exoskeletons gleamed like oil, segmented and wrong, while their eyes glowed white, unblinking, tracking movement with predatory focus.
But it wasn't just their appearance that made Alex's skin crawl — it was the way they moved. Too fluid for their size, too coordinated for mindless beasts. They communicated through clicks and hisses that echoed strangely in the sulfurous air, almost like language.
Dozens. Maybe more. And still rising.
The System's voice rang out above the swarm, steady and absolute, as if the chaos around them was nothing more than a minor inconvenience:
[Trial of Accord: Objective — Survive and Advance.][Observation: Trust alignment under review.][Current Cohesion Rating: 23% - CRITICAL]
"Survive and advance?!" Moxxie snapped, pulling out his pistol with shaking hands. The weapon looked pitifully small against the swarm. "Advance where?! What kind of trial is this supposed to be?!"
His voice cracked on the last word, betraying the fear he was trying to hide behind anger. The creatures' attention snapped to him, dozens of white eyes focusing with laser intensity.
Blitzo whooped, summoning his rifles with theatrical flair. "Doesn't matter! Point is, kill stuff! Now this I can work with!" His grin was manic, but Alex caught the way his knuckles whitened on the grips. Even Blitzo wasn't as confident as he appeared.
Loona bared her teeth, scanning the horizon with tactical precision. "We can't just shoot our way through this. Look—" She pointed with a clawed finger. Far across the black expanse, easily a mile away, a towering obsidian arch jutted from the ground like a massive gravestone. A faint light glowed within its frame — not warm or welcoming, but cold and clinical. The only exit.
The path between here and there was a nightmare of broken stone bridges spanning molten chasms, unstable platforms, and what looked like active volcanic vents spewing jets of superheated gas.
Charlie seized on it instantly, her voice cutting through the others' despair. "That's where we go. Together. We can do this!" But even as she spoke, Alex heard the slight tremor she was trying to hide. The doubt creeping in at the edges.
The swarm was already charging, claws scraping stone in a sound like fingernails on a chalkboard amplified a thousandfold. The ground quaked beneath their rush, and more cracks opened, spilling forth additional horrors.
Alex forced himself upright, gauntlet flaring with unstable light that cast wild shadows across the hellscape. His chest tightened — the System's pulse hammered in his veins like a second heartbeat, tempting him, daring him. The power was right there, begging to be released.
Rocky squeaked in panic, burying itself against his collar. The little creature's terror was a cold splash of reality.
He looked at the others — half ready to fight, half ready to bolt. No plan. No unity. No trust. Moxxie was eyeing his gauntlet with open suspicion, Loona looked ready to abandon them all at the first opportunity, and even Charlie's optimism seemed strained to the breaking point.
And still the System's voice pressed coldly against his mind, like ice water in his veins:
[Warning: Cohesion unstable.][Escalation parameters: Activated]
The first wave hit.
Claws scraped stone, shadows shrieked, and the swarm crashed forward in a wall of teeth and fire that seemed to swallow the world.
Alex staggered back, gauntlet pulsing wildly like a caged animal desperate for release. The others scrambled into motion around him, weapons flashing, voices clashing over the roar of approaching death.
And just like that, the Trial had begun.
The creatures moved with disturbing coordination, not like a mindless horde but like a military unit. The smaller ones darted forward in precise formations while larger beasts hung back, their white eyes calculating, waiting for openings.
Millie was the first to strike, her axe cleaving through the front line in a spray of black ash and viscous fluid that steamed when it hit the stone. "Stay behind me, Moxxie!" she barked, planting herself like a wall of muscle and steel between her husband and the oncoming nightmare.
Her movements were poetry in violence — every swing precise, every step calculated. She'd fought demons before, but these things were different. Smarter. They adapted to her patterns after only a few exchanges, forcing her to constantly evolve her technique.
"I don't need to be told twice!" Moxxie snapped back, already firing in sharp, efficient bursts over her shoulder. His bullets dropped targets cleanly — headshots that would have felled any normal demon — but the sheer number pressing in made his precision feel pointless. For every one he dropped, three more took its place. "There are too many! This isn't sustainable!"
His voice was tight with professional frustration. This wasn't how firefights were supposed to work. You were supposed to be able to thin the enemy's numbers, create breathing room, establish control. But the swarm was infinite.
Blitzo barreled into the fray with reckless glee, shotgun blasts ripping chunks through the swarm. "God, I love family field trips!" he howled, narrowly ducking a claw that almost took his head clean off. Acidic blood splattered across his coat, sizzling.
But Alex noticed something in Blitzo's movements — a subtle shift in his positioning. The imp was ensuring he always had an escape route, always stayed mobile. For all his bravado, he was already planning how to abandon the others if things went completely sideways.
Loona didn't even bother with a quip. She tore through stragglers at the flank, her claws finding weak points in chitin armor with surgical precision. But her eyes were locked on the distant arch, calculating distances and odds. "We can't stand here! That's the exit — if we don't move, we're dead!"
Her tone was matter-of-fact, but Alex caught the subtext: I'm not dying for any of you.
Alex planted his feet, gauntlet sparking violently as power built within the crystalline core. Instinct screamed at him to unleash it, to end the swarm in one brilliant strike. The temptation was overwhelming — he could feel the System's approval, urging him toward maximum destruction.
But control slipped with every pulse, the memory of the Hotel's scorched walls pressing against his skull like a migraine. Charlie's disappointed face. The smell of burning carpet and the way everyone had looked at him afterward.
Charlie's voice cut through the chaos, somehow audible over the screaming and violence. "Alex! Don't overdo it — control it! We need you stable!"
He roared, thrusting his arm forward with desperate restraint. Light surged from the gauntlet, but not the overwhelming torrent he was capable of. Instead, a focused beam ripped a precise hole through the swarm's front line. Shadows dissolved in a blinding arc, their death-screams echoing off the stone.
For a heartbeat, silence. Space. Hope.
Then the glow faltered, Alex nearly collapsing with the drain. The gauntlet pulsed angrily, hungry for more, like a starving animal denied a meal. His vision blurred at the edges.
Moxxie's voice rang out sharp and accusing over the brief lull. "See?! That thing's going to kill us before the monsters do! Every time you use it, you get weaker!"
Charlie spun on him, her usual patience fraying. "He's helping us—!"
"Helping?!" Loona yanked Charlie back as a claw tore past where her head had been a split second earlier. The attack left smoking gouges in the stone. "We're barely holding together! This is exactly what the System wants — to watch us tear each other apart!"
Her words hit like physical blows. Because she wasn't wrong. Every argument, every moment of distrust, every crack in their unity made the trial harder. The System was feeding on their dysfunction.
The ground shuddered beneath them with increasing violence, fissures widening like hungry mouths. More creatures poured out as if drawn by their voices, by the discord itself.
[Observation: Alignment deteriorating.][Threat level increased to: SEVERE][New objective: Eliminate discord or face elimination]
The path to the arch began to shift before their eyes, solid stone bridges splitting into jagged fragments over molten chasms. Each tremor made the route more treacherous, and the swarm's weight was causing entire sections to collapse.
Charlie's eyes went wide with understanding. "It's adapting to us. The more we fight each other—"
"—the worse it gets," Alex finished, chest burning as the swarm surged again with renewed fury.
The creatures' coordination improved with each wave, their attacks becoming more sophisticated. They'd learned to target the group's weak points — driving wedges between them, forcing them apart, isolating individuals.
As if summoned by his words, the swarm surged faster than ever before, the fissures splitting into yawning gulfs that revealed molten cores far below. One of the bridges snapped under the combined weight of stone and monsters, plunging half a dozen creatures into the molten chasm below. Their shrieks echoed up from the depths, but more poured in to replace them, scrambling over each other in a frenzy.
The heat was becoming unbearable. Sweat poured down Alex's face, and he could see the others wilting under the oppressive temperature. Rocky was panting against his neck, the little creature's usual chatter reduced to worried squeaks.
Charlie clenched her fists, decision crystallizing in her eyes. "Then we stop fighting each other and move! Everyone—toward the arch! No more arguments, no more doubt. We trust each other or we die here!"
Her voice carried such authority that even Loona's ears perked up. For a moment, she sounded less like the optimistic princess of Hell and more like someone who'd inherited the right to rule it.
Blitzo cackled between shotgun blasts, genuinely impressed. "Finally, some leadership! Took you long enough, princess! I was starting to think you were all sunshine and no substance!"
"Less mouth, more moving!" Loona barked, slashing her way to Charlie's side with fluid grace. She shoved a falling rock off the path with her shoulder and snarled, "Stay close. Don't look down. And for Hell's sake, trust each other for the next five minutes!"
The urgency in her voice was infectious. Despite everything, despite all their differences and conflicts, they began to move as a unit.
Millie swung her axe in a brutal arc, clearing a path across the nearest bridge with the efficiency of a professional soldier. "Moxxie, cover fire! And stop overthinking — just shoot!"
"I'm already covering!" he yelled back, unloading his clip into a pack of leapers trying to flank them. His hands had stopped shaking — when the situation became purely tactical, his training took over. His eyes kept darting toward Alex's gauntlet, but now with calculation rather than fear. "Alex, can you give us another burst? Controlled — like before?"
It was the first time Moxxie had asked for his help rather than complained about it.
Alex staggered after them, chest pounding in rhythm with the gauntlet's pulse. Every step closer to the arch, the temptation worsened. The power called to him, promising easy solutions, quick victories. It would be so easy—one more blast, one massive flare, and the entire swarm would break.
But he remembered the Hotel's scorched walls. Charlie's pleading eyes. Moxxie's accusation. Rocky's frightened squeaks.
[Warning: Gauntlet synchronization unstable.][Recommendation: Full power discharge advised][Resistance to optimal parameters noted]
The System's voice was everywhere at once, louder now, sharper, like a knife in his skull. It was getting frustrated with his restraint, with his stubborn refusal to become the weapon it wanted him to be.
They sprinted onto the first bridge, the obsidian span groaning under their combined weight. The stone was ancient and worn, carved with symbols that hurt to look at directly. Lava boiled far below, the heat searing their lungs and making every breath a struggle. The swarm pressed behind them, crawling onto the bridge in a tide of shadow and flame that made the entire structure buckle.
"Don't stop!" Charlie cried, reaching out to drag Moxxie forward when his foot slipped on cracked stone. "We're stronger together! Remember that!"
The bridge was maybe thirty feet long, but it felt like miles. Each step was uncertain, each footfall a gamble against gravity and structural integrity. Behind them, the creatures poured onto the span with suicidal determination.
Ahead, a massive Voidspawn leapt onto the bridge's far end, blocking their escape route. This one was different from the others — twice their size, its body stitched with chains of molten iron that left glowing trails in the air. Its eyes blazed like twin furnaces, and when it opened its maw, flames licked at its teeth.
Intelligence burned in those furnace eyes. This wasn't just a monster — it was a guardian, placed here specifically to test them.
"Oh, come on!" Blitzo groaned, swapping rifles in mid-spin with practiced ease. "They send the miniboss now?! What's next, a pop quiz on trust exercises?!"
Despite the situation, his joke actually worked — tension broke just enough for them to function as a team instead of a panicked mob.
Millie charged the guardian with a battle cry that would have made her ancestors proud. Her axe bit deep into its chest, sparks flying as steel met enchanted chitin. But the creature barely staggered — instead, it smiled, a expression of pure malice on its insectile features.
It swung a massive claw, catching Millie across the chest and sending her skidding backward along the trembling span. She hit the stone hard, axe clattering away, momentarily stunned.
"Millie!" Moxxie fired wildly, rage overtaking his usual precision. His training abandoned him as pure emotion took control. The bullets sparked off the monster's hide like raindrops. "Get away from her!"
The sight of his wife in danger stripped away every pretense of tactical thinking. Moxxie stepped forward, directly into the creature's reach, empty pistol forgotten in his hand.
Alex's gauntlet screamed in his veins like liquid fire. His knees buckled as light surged up his arm, the power demanding release. The System's voice grew louder, more insistent:
[Critical moment detected][Full discharge authorized][Maximum efficiency parameters: Engaged]
He couldn't hold it back anymore. Not against that thing. Not if they wanted to live. Not if Millie was going to die because he was too afraid to use what he'd been given.
The guardian raised its claws for the killing blow, molten chains writhing around its arms like living things. Millie lay pinned beneath its shadow, struggling to reach her axe. Moxxie was defenseless, his gun empty, tears of rage streaming down his face.
Charlie's voice cut through the roar and heat, raw and desperate. "Alex—control it! Don't let it control you! We need you here, not lost to that thing!"
The Voidspawn's claws descended toward Millie's prone form.
Alex made his choice.
But instead of unleashing everything, instead of giving the System what it wanted, he focused. Remembered Charlie's lessons about control. About being stronger than the power that tried to define him.
The gauntlet erupted in a controlled burst.
A beam of focused light tore through the monster's center mass, shattering its core in a controlled explosion of black ash and molten shards. The bridge bucked under the blast, but held — Alex had calibrated the power perfectly. Just enough to destroy the threat, not enough to collapse their escape route.
Everyone clung to the stone as the shockwave passed through the span, but the structure remained intact.
Silence. The Voidspawn was gone, nothing but settling ash and cooling metal.
Alex remained standing, though sweat poured down his face and his hands shook. The gauntlet pulsed with frustrated energy — it wanted more, always more — but he'd proven he could control it.
Rocky peeped approvingly from his shoulder.
"Alex—" Charlie knelt beside him, gripping his shoulder with genuine pride. "You did it. You controlled it. You saved her without losing yourself."
For a moment, even Moxxie was silent. Then, grudgingly: "That was... thank you."
It wasn't forgiveness, but it was acknowledgment.
[Observation: Unexpected restraint displayed][Recalculating threat assessment...][Warning: Subjects exceeding predicted parameters]
The System sounded almost... confused? As if their growing cooperation was something it hadn't anticipated.
But their celebration was premature. The ground split wider around them, new swarms clawing their way up from the depths as the System adapted to their success. If unity made them stronger, it would simply throw more overwhelming odds at them.
[Escalation initiated.][Difficulty increased to: MAXIMUM]
The obsidian arch loomed ahead, closer now—but the path to it was breaking apart with increasing violence. Pieces of stone fell into molten fire, and the bridges were becoming increasingly unstable.
They had one chance. One path left. And no time to argue.
What came next was a nightmare of coordination under impossible pressure.
The swarm that emerged from the new fissures was different. Larger, more organized, more intelligent. These creatures moved with military precision, establishing formations and tactical positions. Some carried weapons — crude but effective implements of chitin and bone.
"They're learning," Loona observed grimly, watching the creatures establish a perimeter. "Every time we adapt, they adapt faster."
The path ahead split into three routes toward the arch: a narrow ledge along the left wall that looked stable but exposed, a series of platforms in the center that offered cover but were already crumbling, and a wide bridge on the right that was crawling with enemies but would be fastest.
"We split up," Alex said immediately, then caught himself. "No, wait. That's exactly what it wants. That's the test."
Charlie nodded. "We stay together. Find a route we can all take."
"The center path," Millie said, having recovered her axe and her confidence. "We can leap between platforms, use the cover, and if anyone falls, the others can help."
Moxxie studied the route with professional assessment. "It's dangerous, but workable. We'll need to cover each other constantly — no one moves alone."
"And if the platforms collapse?" Loona asked.
Blitzo grinned. "Then we improvise! Worked so far!"
As they prepared to move, the System's voice cut through their planning:
[New trial parameters: Individual evaluation mode][Recommendation: Abandon weak links for optimal survival][Alternative: Face escalating difficulty as group]
It was offering them an out. Abandon whoever was slowing them down, and the trial would become easier for the survivors.
The silence stretched as the implications sank in.
Alex looked around the group — at Moxxie, who was still afraid of the gauntlet but trying to trust; at Loona, who kept looking for escape routes but hadn't actually abandoned them; at Blitzo, whose jokes were covering genuine fear; at Millie, who'd throw herself in front of any of them without hesitation; at Charlie, whose faith in them never seemed to waver.
"No," he said firmly. "We all go through, or none of us do."
"The kid's right," Blitzo said, surprising everyone. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely terrified and will probably cry later, but... Hell, we've come this far as a dysfunctional family. Might as well see it through."
Moxxie actually smiled. "A dysfunctional family. I can live with that."
[Observation: Subjects refuse optimal survival strategy][Classification: Anomalous behavior][Increasing difficulty to compensate...]
The platforms ahead began to shake more violently, and the creatures below let out coordinated roars that sounded almost like battle cries.
"It's really not happy with us," Charlie observed.
"Good," Loona growled. "Let's disappoint it some more."
The first jump was the longest — nearly ten feet to a circular platform that bobbed like a cork in a storm. Millie went first, landing in a perfect crouch and immediately scanning for threats. One by one, they followed, each landing met with relief and determination.
The creatures below tried to follow, leaping up at them with desperate hunger. Some made it, forcing running battles on the platforms themselves. But something had changed in the group's dynamic — they fought as a unit now, covering each other's blind spots, sharing ammunition, taking turns being point and rear guard.
When Moxxie's platform began to crumble, Alex was there with a controlled burst of power to shore it up. When Alex stumbled from the drain, Charlie caught him. When Charlie hesitated at a particularly wide gap, Blitzo's encouraging shout gave her the confidence to leap.
And Loona, despite her claims of looking out only for herself, kept herding them together like a protective wolf with her pack.
The platforms were a maze of volcanic glass and unstable stone, each one presenting new challenges. Some were trapped, shooting jets of superheated steam when stepped on wrong. Others were inhabited by smaller creatures that had to be cleared before they could rest. A few were simply too damaged to hold their weight for long.
But they were learning to work together. More than that — they were learning to trust each other.
Alex found himself relying on Moxxie's tactical assessment when choosing routes. Charlie discovered that Loona's pessimism was actually valuable strategic thinking. Millie appreciated Blitzo's ability to keep everyone's spirits up even in the worst moments.
[Warning: Group cohesion approaching dangerous levels][Implementing final protocol...][Trial conclusion imminent]
The last platform was the largest, but it was also where the System made its final play.
As they landed, the stone beneath them began to glow with the same pulsing light as Alex's gauntlet. Energy built in the air, crackling with potential.
[Final evaluation: Choose one to sacrifice for group survival][Compliance ensures remaining subjects' completion][Non-compliance results in total trial failure]
The words hung in the air like poison. Around them, creatures gathered on every side, no longer attacking but waiting. Waiting for their choice.
"No," Charlie said immediately. "There has to be another way."
"What if there isn't?" Moxxie asked quietly. "What if that's the whole point? The ultimate test of accord — who do we choose to lose?"
"Nobody," Alex said, stepping forward. The gauntlet was responding to the platform's energy, growing brighter and more unstable. "Look at this thing. It's not just testing us anymore — it's trying to break us."
He raised his arm, feeling the power build to dangerous levels. "What if the real test is refusing to play its game at all?"
The platform's glow intensified, and the gauntlet began to resonate with it. Energy arced between them, creating a feedback loop that made Alex's teeth ache.
"Alex," Charlie said warningly, "what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking this whole trial is rigged. It doesn't want accord — it wants us to turn on each other. And I'm tired of playing by its rules."
The resonance reached a critical point. Alex could feel the two energy sources trying to sync up, trying to merge. The System wanted to use him as a conduit, to channel its power through the gauntlet.
Instead, he grabbed Charlie's hand. "Trust me. All of you, link up. Now."
Without hesitation, Charlie took Millie's hand. Millie grabbed Moxxie, who reached for Loona, who reluctantly but firmly clasped Blitzo's hand. Blitzo, grinning through his terror, completed the circle by grasping Alex's free hand.
[Warning: Unauthorized energy pattern detected][Attempting to compensate...][ERROR: System override in progress]
The power flowed through them, not the cold, demanding energy of the System, but something warmer. Their own energy, their own will, magnified by their connection to each other.
Alex felt their trust like a physical force, steady and unbreakable. Charlie's unwavering faith, Millie's fierce loyalty, Moxxie's hard-won respect, Loona's grudging but genuine affection, Blitzo's surprising courage beneath the jokes.
The platform exploded in light.
When the glare faded, they stood together in a circle of scorched stone, hands still linked, while the swarm had simply... vanished. The creatures were gone, dissolved like smoke. Even the oppressive heat had lifted.
[System Error: Trial parameters exceeded][Subjects have achieved impossible accord rating][Recalibrating...]
The obsidian arch ahead pulsed with welcoming light, no longer cold but warm and inviting.
"Did we just..." Moxxie started.
"Break the System?" Loona finished. "I think we did."
Blitzo whooped. "We're rule-breakers! I love it!"
Charlie squeezed their hands. "We trusted each other. Really trusted each other. That was the real test."
They walked toward the arch together, still hand in hand, as the System's voice grew fainter and more confused behind them.
[Trial of Accord: Status... UNDEFINED][Subjects exceeding all parameters...][Next trial... calculating...]
But for now, they had won. Not by being strong enough to survive, but by being unified enough to refuse the System's manipulations entirely.
The arch grew larger as they approached, its light warm and welcoming. Beyond it, Alex could see hints of green — trees, grass, sky. Something that looked like a normal world.
"Think it's safe?" he asked.
"Probably not," Charlie admitted. "But we'll face it together."
"Together," they all agreed.
And stepped through the light as one.
[End of Chapter 3]
{OK... give me a review and/or stones XD}